The Nodal Body

IFCA aims to develop the culinary professiona and promote curilnary tourism even as it continuously scaled up Indian cuisine on the Global platform

IFCA PRESIDIUM

PresidentChef Manjit Singh Gill

Vice PresidentChef Vijaya Baskaran
IFCA

General SecretaryDr. Chef Soundararajan

TreasurerChef M S Gupta

IFCA The Organisation

The Indian Federation of Culinary Associations is a nodal body of culinary professionals in India and is an independent, apolitical, non-religious and voluntary organization of culinary professionals. IFCA was formed with the idea of developing the culinary profession and to showcase Indian cuisine on the global platform. IFCA hopes to promote culinary knowledge and propagate various kinds of food and bring obscure culinary styles and practices to the forefront.

The main objective of IFCA is to live up to the general interest of the profession and to knit a closer link between the professionals, culinary institutes, allied food service industry professionals and to develop a high ethical standard of the culinary art. IFCA is a forum dedicated to connect culinary professionals across the geography of India with people and places with the knowledge they need to succeed.

Chef Manjit S. Gill

With over three decades of delectable culinary experience behind him, Chef Manjit S. Gill is currently associated with the prestigious, ITC Welcom Group where he has held the position of Corporate Chef since 1991. He has been awarded the prestigious Silver Certificate of Excellence in the Sheraton Culinary Olympics held in Boston, USA in 1987. Chef Manjit Gill has also donned the hat of a TV Presenter and a writer. On 25th January 2007, he received the “Life Time Achievement” National Award from the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. Chef Manjit Gill holds prestigious memberships of professional organizations such as The Cookery & Food Association, Great Britain; Master Craftsman-Craft Guild of Chefs, Great Britain; American Culinary Federation, Chicago; Past President and Founder of Indian Culinary Forum, India and is presently the President of Indian Federation of Culinary Associations, India.

Chef Vijaya Baskaran

Chef Vijaya Baskaran is the Head of F&B operations and Executive Chef at Le Meridien Bengaluru, and President of Bengaluru Chapter IFCA Southern region. He has been awarded IFCA Chef of the Year 2008 at the 4 th National Culinary Congress, Hyderabad in 2009. He has represented India at the Asia Pacific forum of Chefs at Gold coast , Australia in 2005 and in Bangkok , Thailand in 2006. Winner of the Golden Hat award in the year 2007, he received the award in recognition of his service to the chefs’ community and its development. He is a ‘WACS Certified Chef’ from World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS). He recently launched the specialty Restaurant Jashn and the Sports Bar and Lounge at Le Meridien, Bangalore and is brand Champion of Le Méridien Bangalore.

Chef Soundararajan

Chef Soundararajan, Corporate Executive Chef, Club Mahindra Holidays & Resorts and the General Secretary of Indian Federation of Culinary Associations, member of WACS Education committee has had an illustrious and successful culinary career. Having been in the industry for over 30 years he has pioneered many changes, innovations and concepts in the field. He was instrumental in forming the South India Culinary Association in Chennai, with about 200 senior chefs from hotels and culinary institutions from South India . He was nominated to represent India as a member of WACS Global Culinary Education Committee. He is the only chef to be elected from Asia to be a member of the prestigious educational committee to drive global culinary education during 2006-2007. He has been recently conferred with the Honoris Causa Award (the Degree of Doctor of Literature) by the Chancellor and the Members of the Board of Management of Vels University for his extraordinary contribution towards Hospitality and Culinary Industry in particular.

Objectives of IFCA

IFCA aims at bringing together the elite among culinary professionals in order to:

Create and maintain bonds of friendship and foster professional co-operation and mutual understanding

Enable improvement in the professional standards within the industry through effective training and recruitment

Lay emphasis on communication and exchange of ideas and its role in development of the industry

Promote professional exchanges of personnel, scholarships, international culinary competitions and bursaries

Liaise with various related professional bodies and institutes in enabling training course, apprenticeship schemes and related vocational links

Promote, foster and encourage the culinary art and related studies

To increase membership through education and professional advancement

Vision of IFCA

To make the objectives of IFCA possible it is necessary to:

have open lines of communication for free exchange of ideas

to provide opportunities of education for professional development as well as individual progress

to give all members the support and guidance they require and direct them towards opportunities

to promote safety and hygiene standards with regards to all food and water supply

to promote integrity and innovation

Mission Statement of IFCA

Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) was created with the modus operandi of enabling development of the culinary profession. The primary focus of IFCA is the promotion of the culinary profession through various exchanges and innovations. IFCA aims at setting up more local chapters throughout the nation and include as many chefs into the IFCA family.

IFCA is looking at promoting culinary knowledge and propagating various kinds of foods and bringing to the forefront obscure culinary styles and practices. IFCA also hopes to develop an ever-expanding culinary network forging a tight culinary bond between the chefs. The mission to promote food and food traditions and related fields is a multi-pronged process inciting change and progress at various levels. From education and training to competitions and challenges IFCA is looking at forging a highly qualified, multi-skilled professional body.

The aim of IFCA includes industry interfacing, professional networking, internationalization of Indian food, talent spotting, good practices, development guidelines, fulfillment of social obligations and collaboration with educational institutions, student bodies and faculty.

Our mission also includes contributing towards the betterment of society by conducting charity events that would help the underprivileged. IFCA also strive towards promoting activity for the benefit of the federation, the members and society.

IFCA - A Recognized Association

India became a proud member country of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) in 2004. It is a national member of the World Association of Chefs Societies, the apex body of culinary professionals with over 10 million members from all over the world. It is considered to be the UN of the culinary profession and is recognized by 93 countries.

IFCA is registered under the Societies Act 1975. Also the Ministry of Tourism, India certified that IFCA is the representative of all the culinary professionals and chefs of the country and is recognized by the Ministry. Director General of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, New Delhi certified that the IFCA is the nodal body of the country representing all the culinary associations of India.

Benefits of becoming an IFCA Member

As an IFCA Regional Associations Member, you will receive the following benefits:

Automatic membership into World Association of Chefs Societies

Opportunity to participate at IFCA’s regional, national and international conferences and trade shows

The IFCA operates the Comprehensive Certification Program for professional chefs and it is a great privilege to
gain the IFCA Certificate for Certified Master Chef and Master Pastry Chef

Opportunity to compete in various culinary competitions throughout the year. IFCA-approved competitions have garnered a place of prestige among the culinary fraternity and will subsequently help the member to participate
in the World Best culinary challenge

Discounted rates for IFCA’s innovative online learning solution

Complimentary subscription to IFCA’s newsletter and emailers

Scholarship opportunities for both culinary students and professional chefs seeking to further their education

Becoming a member of the IFCA Regional Associations affords members the luxury of a full array of IFCA benefits regardless of region (within the country).

Eligibility for Membership

If you become a member of any one of the following listed regional association you are considered automatically as a member of IFCA (Indian Federation of Culinary Associations) and WACS (World Association of Chefs’ Societies). All members will be recognized globally.

Apart from this, various regional chapters like Karnataka chapter and Kerala chapter of SICA are also under IFCA. Any Corporate chefs/Executive chefs/Sous chefs/Junior sous chef/Kitchen executives/Sr.Chef de partie/Chef de partie or similar designations can become a member of the above mentioned associations and hence can become a member of IFCA. Also from educational establishments Principals, Heads of the Departments, Professors and Lecturers also are entitled for membership.

Procedure for becoming a member of IFCA

Interested new members are requested to visit our website www.ifca.info for applying online. After downloading the due forms, kindly fill the appropriate fields and take a print out of the same, attach it with 2 recent color passport size photographs along with demand draft or at par cheque for 2 years membership and send it to the below mentioned address. Subscription fees of Rs.900 should be made in favor of respective associations like South India Culinary Association or Indian Culinary Forum etc. (Please refer respective pages in our website for correct names). Cash will not be accepted at any case.

Student Members in IFCA

Students pursuing second year of diploma/degree in culinary arts/ hotel management/ catering technology who are planning to pursue their career in culinary trade can become members of IFCA junior forum. Interested students can contact their principals for further details.